Peace Arena

Getting religion

Rena — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:33:15 +0000

I went to a Catholic High School, not because I had gone to Catholic grammar school (I didn’t) and not because I or my family was particularly religious (we weren’t), but because after attending public school the first year back in the continental U.S., I was afraid I wouldn’t live through another year of it, much less three more, so I begged to transfer to the school where there was a little more behavioral control in evidence (for context, this was the late 60s).

There were some good moments (studying Ayn Rand, Niemoller, Saint-Exupéry, et. al. with a very charismatic priest is a highlight, as was hearing the coolest brothers and sisters telling about their Summers spent on the nearby Catholic Worker Farm), there was some psychological torture (studying Latin with the most dull-witted and mind-numbing person in the hemisphere).

But by far the best was a religion class in 11th grade. What was cool about it was that we didn’t talk about religion, at least I don’t remember doing so, though surely we must have. What I remember was an engaging, vibrant, passionate sister who clearly loved life, teaching, people and who respected her students and wanted to enrich their minds and hear their ideas.

There were two classes that really stick out for me. In one, the nun wrote the lyrics for the Leonard Cohen song ‘Suzanne’ on the blackboard. We listened to the song, examined and talked about the words, listened again, explored meanings and possible motivations and outcomes. It was one of the most stunning classroom experiences I have ever had. I would say it was the most stunning, except for another, also with the same nun.

She had at the front of the room several pictures depicting Jesus Christ. I don’t remember all of them exactly, but basically, for the purposes of this story, and being descriptively accurate, you could say one was The Pieta, one was a manger scene, one was a closeup of a face with a crown of thorns, one was floating beautifully passionless on a post-ascension cloud and one was Christ of the Breadlines.

She asked us which image best represented our idea of Jesus. Most of my classmates had gone to Catholic School and lived in the little township in upstate New York their whole lives. Maybe that accounts for their responses, which were mostly split between the torture victim and the cloud-rider. Anyway, I was the only one who raised my hand for Christ of the Breadlines. The only one, and I was somewhat embarrassed by that, in the uncomfortable way you feel if you are singled out for undue praise. I thought I was making the obvious choice.

That moment really made me aware that I was different from the other students in ways I hadn’t realized before (and I was already plenty different). I was shocked by the choices made by my fellow students and kept trying to understand. Did their responses really reflect their thinking, or was something else at work? Sometimes I’d thing they were just playing mind games with the nun. Maybe they were refusing to give the answer she wanted because, well, they’d been mindfucked themselves by many a nun and wanted to make a point about their earlier Catholic education. Or maybe I was the only one naive enough to be mindfucked into giving Sister the answer she wanted (and yes, I think it’s a given what answer she was hoping for; see ‘Suzanne’ above).

I finally realized that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And that’s when I “got” religion and stopped being a Christian. I realize that it’s possible that someone else, under the same circumstances, would make the opposite choice — in an alternate universe, maybe I’m the Pope. It took me many more years to come to realize I was or had at some point become an atheist, and to come to terms with that. But religion still fascinates me, like a lifelong research project, in the drastic/dramatic way it shapes people, and controls them, blinds them, and even sometimes enlightens and elevates them, and I still think if you read the New Testament, even the Cliff Notes version, and don’t come away seeing the Jesus depicted there (man, god, or literary character) as Christ of the Breadlines, there is something seriously wrong with your comprehension (it probably having been warped even more drastically by the many evils of dogma so that even religion isn’t “religious” anymore).

Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that shes half crazy
But that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.

And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said all men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.

Now Suzanne takes you hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From salvation army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.

WordPress 3.0 upgrade, tweaks and prepping for blog future

Rena — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:59:05 +0000

I’ve upgraded to WordPress 3.0 (“Thelonious”) and plan to use its multisite feature. But first I want to do some housecleaning here and at the blogs I plan to merge from hither and yon into this single install (hallelujah!).

I’ve also got some changes planned for Peace Arena’s front page and menus. I’m going to focus less on the day to day blog (Ha! who am I kidding, I mean the month to month sporadic blog) and more on providing some resources and tools for my Oklahoma (and beyond) progressive community.

So, at the point when I can get some time to do this, Peace Arena will go down for maintenance until it’s done. This may be tonight, it may be two weeks from now — just giving a heads up now.

Dedicated to those who helped Blanche Lincoln

Rena — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:47:30 +0000

… squeak out a primary win, making the seat a sure-fire GOP pickup in November. Hey, boys, which side are you on?

Like we don’t know already!

Gotta go to Groovefest – event rescheduled

Rena — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:45:32 +0000

Update. This just in: Due to the weather, GrooveFest has been rescheduled for June 13.

I’ve been in Oklahoma since 2003, and haven’t been to this event yet. It sounds like one of the most progressive things in the state, but then, that’s relative, and it’s Norman.

What is Groovefest?

Groovefest is Norman’s one and only Human Rights Music Festival. Each spring and fall, the community comes together to raise awareness about human rights, listen to some talented musicians, and have a great time! Established in 1986 by the OU chapter of Amnesty International, Groovefest has since been under the guardianship of the Norman Groovefest organization. This year, OU Amnesty International will host the festival once again.

(links added)

Anyway, hopefully — life and weather permitting — I can get down there and correct the oversight.

Call to action: Demand that GOP stop blocking financial reform

Rena — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:07:46 +0000

This would be a really good time to contact your GOP reps and read them the riot act (politely!) about what their party is doing to thwart reform and regulation and keep the bankers and Wall Street living high off the hog without punishment or accountability.

It may seem like moving mountains, but if enough of us do it, THIS WEEK, it will seem like a groundswell and they won’t be able to ignore it. Hell, tell your Tea Party friends and relatives, because if they are true to what they say they stand for, then they want those high rollers dealt with as much as progressives do.

Be sure to let your GOP rep know that you don’t buy the malarkey about the Democratic bill “institutionalizing bailouts.” Tell them you want strict regulation, and accountability, so that those responsible for the collapse feel some of the pain they caused, and continue to cause, the American people, and that this will never happen again.

Senator Tom A. Coburn (Republican)
Phone: (202) 224-5754
Fax: (202) 224-6008
District Info:
Phone: (405) 231-4941
Fax: (405) 231-5051

Senator James M. Inhofe (Republican)
Phone: (202) 224-4721
Fax: (202) 228-0380
District Info:
Phone: (405) 608-4381
Fax: (405) 608-4120

Find your Congressperson: http://www.capitolconnect.com/oklahoma/default.aspx

Do it now! Thanks.

17 more discounted DVDs for my library

Rena — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:46:40 +0000

The Movie Gallery video chain is going out of business. So, was unable to talk myself out of going into the local store for their closing sale today. Here’s what I got:

Flow: How did a handful of corporations seal our water?
Enron: The smartest guys in the room
The U.S. vs John Lennon
Margaret Cho: Assassin
This So-Called Disaster (fiction film about rehearsing a Sam Shepard play — never heard of it, but doesn’t that sound like a horror movie? LOL)
The Real Dirt on Farmer John (“It ain’t easy being green” is the callout; sounds interesting)
Hotel Rwanda
What the bleep do we know? (someone I don’t care for was a big fan of this film, but I’ll try not to hold that against it.)
Jesus Camp
Frost/Nixon
Grey Gardens

Not shown in photo (cuz I missed a bag):

An Inconvenient Truth
Milk
Why We Fight
No End in Sight
Rush To War
Paper Clips

The last four I’m probably going to donate to the war and peace library maintained by the Oklahoma Center for Conscience.

By the way, per a flyer they gave me, moviegallery.com is now going to be a source for buying movies. Limited time promo code for 25% off with free shipping: 25PV

Tea Party active in OK legislature, where are the business leaders to stop this nonsense?

Rena — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:34:57 +0000

Representatives Randy Brogdon and Charles Key are giving Sally Kern a run for the money to make Oklahoma radioactive for business development. Why? Because they might have to let law enforcement count attacks motivated by homophobia in Oklahoma. The conspiracy theory (there always is one with the Right, isn’t there, the poor little victimized bullies) is that under this law, anti-gay preachers won’t be able to warp the life of Jesus into a Citizens United documentary starring Fred Phelps as the son of god.

Did I say money? Where are the money interests, i.e. business leaders, to stomp out this insurrection insanity? They and few others have the resources and standing to deal with this appropriately. And I include The Oklahoman in that group. Hello! You shun and snark the Left out of existence in this state, time to do the same for these secessionist racist gun nuts.

I sent the message below to the state chamber, I’m so sick of this shit. I could not care less about the chamber’s elitist goals, but I do care about the suffering that the poor and disenfranchised will have to endure as Oklahoma scoots to last place in education, income, health, opportunity and every scale of reasonable human existence.

I’m sure this state militia story is doing GREAT things for efforts to recruit businesses here to create jobs and build the economy, like all the other back-asswards thinking coming out of the Capitol from these culture war neanderthals and outright racists.

I wish the Chamber of Commerce would come out and publicly and unequivocally condemn this kind of thing so we can begin to improve our profile and get out of 49th place on every life quality list made. Perhaps you could at least have a discrete conversation with some of these wingnuts (for sure don’t leave Kern out) and let them know that the business community will make sure they have well-funded primary opponents come the next election.

Or maybe the organization agrees with Reps. Brogdon and Key — if so please let us know, so all the sane people in OK can leave the state before the next civil war erupts at Ft. Sill.

Hank Williams given special Pulitzer, Meryl Streep elected to Academy

Rena — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:48:16 +0000

Any ~~award~~ Special Citation for Hank Williams (Sr) doesn’t really need an explanation.

New York City, April 12 – The Pulitzer Prize Board has awarded a posthumous Special Citation to country music icon Hank Williams for his lifetime achievement as a musician, Columbia University announced today.
The citation praises Williams for “his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life.”

That the writer/singer of “Honky Tonkin’” and “Hey, Good Lookin’” would get an award like the Pulitzer once would have been sacrilege.

“The citation, above all, recognizes the lasting impact of Williams as a creative force that influenced a wide range of other musicians and performers,” said Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. “At the same time, the award highlights the Board’s desire to broaden its Music Prize and recognize the full range of musical excellence that might not have been considered in the past.”

Shorter Gissler: “We used to be artsy fartsy snobs!”

My mother knew Williams in Montgomery in the late 30s, or knew of him, somewhat crossed paths. In her mid teens she played steel guitar (“Hawaiian guitar” back then) on a radio program and says he, a couple of years younger, hung out around the station, and at other music venues. She had no idea of his amazing talent, though. She can be a little snobby, I have to say, so she probably didn’t give him the time of day, much less a good listen. Who’s sorry now?

Also in opening-the-arts-to-the-lowly-masses news today, Meryl Streep was honored with a membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. This is a pretty exclusive club and she’s the first artist elected solely for acting, and this is seen either as the collapse of culture, or the democratization of art, depending on your point of view.

The inductees [of the special category Streep's membership is in] demonstrate again how far the academy has changed from its frankly snobbish roots, when modernists, women, non-whites and Jews were not welcome and the presence of a “lowly” actress, even one as talented as Streep, might have set off mass resignations.

And the gate crashing continues.

OKC Rally against Citizens United Ruling, photos and thoughts

Rena — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:33:35 +0000

Today’s “We the People” rally featured some great speeches from activists local and national. Too bad there was such poor attendance — about 150, I estimate. Rev. Robin Meyers’ speech was very thoughtful, Rep. Pittman was like a preacher herself with some great motivational oratory(despite the unfortunate habit of calling the SCOTUS justices “justices of the peace”), and Max Blumenthal and David Cobb, the out of towners, set the Citizens United ruling in historical and social context. The content from the podium was as good as any rally I’ve attended/viewed in D.C. or elsewhere.

I wish I wasn’t so depressed and stressed, I could do more than complain about the progressive scene in Central OK. Thanks to Barbara McKay, Susan McCann, Steve Hunt for getting the event together, and to all others who organized on this end. Rev. Robin Meyers, Rep. Anastasia Pittman and Reggie Cervantes were locals who spoke and did a great job rallying the sparse troops, giving a lot of motivation and energy with their tireless commitment and passion. And thanks to Max Blumenthal and David Cobb who made the trip here for what must have seemed pretty lame turnout, even for a state as red as OK.

There continues to be a lack of communication tools for getting turnout to such events, but without enough folks with sustained energy and will to fight against the tide, nothing will change.

We The People Rally

I was told that most of the speeches were taped, and hope to be able to listen to them again, because they did the job of a rally speech quite well. Maybe with a recording, we can at least spread their message to all those Oklahoma progressives who weren’t there — and make them sorry enough to have missed it that they will be sure to make it to the next one.

Susan McCann posted this note on the Facebook page for the event:

TODAY we reached beyond Party and Administration on an issue that transcends and requires urgency of action. We were honored to have such a diverse, interesting and informed group of speakers and want to thank each of them for attending.

Photos and Video will be posted tomorrow and emailed to all.

Thanks from Change Oklahoma and We the People- Oklahoma.

Susan McCann

SOS from Crawford Peace House

Rena — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:46:28 +0000

Friends,

Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore are among those who have posted this message from the owner of the Crawford Peace House, who needs help if he is to keep it beyond this Tuesday. It would be wonderful if we could save it and turn it into a peace museum and resource center. In my opinion, it would need a new owner and management, but that’s an issue to take up if we can save it. I just cringe to think of how an unfriendly buyer will turn the place against the movement that created something powerful there in 2005!

I thought you might want to know the situation, and possibly want to help and spread the news — but time is of the essence. There’s an email address for Johnny Wolf, the house’s owner, in his letter below, which you can use for contact and/or to send a donation via Paypal.

FROM JOHNNY WOLF:

The Best investment I ever made

Seven years ago, I made a down payment on a house in Crawford Texas. On Easter Sunday 2003, it became the Crawford Texas Peace House.

We committed to being there until Bush was out of the White House, and we kept that commitment. Those years were important years for me and for the peace movement.

For a little over a year we have had a new administration and the wars we set out to stop continue and have to spread to Pakistan and still threaten Iran. The relevance of Crawford’s Western White House and our resistance has all become a significant part of history.

No, the mortgage did not get paid. I have not been able to meet my financial obligations on the Peace House, and I am five payments behind.

The Peace House is scheduled for a Foreclosure Auction on Tuesday morning on the steps of McLennan County Court House, April 6,

There is an offer to purchase the house for 10,000.00 less than what is owed. My personal situation will not allow me to take the offer. It needs a new owner 48,000.00 is owed on the mortgage. 4,000.00 will bring it current and cover legal fees.

If you are interested in a future for the Peace House please email me at WOLFISHQ@gmail.com

If an unfriendly entity purchases the house we will be served an eviction notice and must vacate the premises.

Thanks for all the Brave Souls that came here to make a difference.

In Peace and in Loving service,

Johnny Wolf
Co-founder, Crawford Texas Peace House